


Mein Schatz

by mchicken



Category: The Streets of San Francisco
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:54:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24524962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mchicken/pseuds/mchicken
Summary: The discovery of a woman's body lead Mike and Steve down an unexpected path.
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

A throbbing pain behind his eyes woke Steve from a deep slumber. When he opened them, it made no difference. Wherever he was, it was a shade of black that had no name. Along with the black came a bone chilling damp and earthy odor. He heard a groan on his right.

“Mike?”

He heard another groan and assumed it meant that wherever he was, his partner was alive, and not far from him. It gave him little comfort. Steve took stock of the situation as best he could. Other than feeling hung-over, he seemed to be in one piece physically. He tried to move his hands but only got an inch or two of play before they stopped. The same was true with his legs.

“Mike? You with me?”

“I think so, but I can’t see.”

“Neither can I, I think it’s just too dark. You know how we got here?”

“Where’s here? Last thing I remember we were in the car.”

“I’m pretty sure we still are. Can you move?”

Steve heard some rustling. “Nope, I’m trussed like a Thanksgiving turkey. You?”

“Handcuffed to the steering wheel. My legs are tied or taped, too.” 

“Now what?”

**_Previously..._ **

Mike was sitting at the table reading the paper, nursing a rapidly cooling cup of coffee. When the phone rang, be looked at the clock. It was just going on 6 am and he was curious what emergency rated a call this early. He picked up the phone. An agitated Norm Haseejian was on the other end.

“Mike, I need your help!” there was a brief pause, “I’m in big trouble.”

00000

Mike pulled the big sedan up to Steve’s Union St. apartment and hit the horn. The young inspector looked out and shook his head. Mike turned off the car and slid over to the passenger seat. The door shut and it was several moments before it opened again. Steve jogged down the steps, his tie undone and his fashionable grey tweed jacket draped over one arm. He opened the driver’s door.

“C’mon, Mike it’s only 6:30. Is San Francisco burning down or something?”

“Just drive, Romeo.” Mike could smell the faint scent of perfume that entered the car with his partner.

“And where am I driving to, Sherlock?” It never failed, Mike always sussed out when he had a female house guest.

“17 Bret Harte Terrace, apartment 1”

“Why do I know that address?”

“You’ll figure it out soon enough. Drive.”

They pulled up to the small, two-story house, which had been split into apartments. An ambulance and a radio car sat out front, lights flashing. Steve was finishing the knot on his tie as they exited the car and walked over to the young patrolman standing by the door. He looked a little green.

“What do we have, son?” Mike asked in a fatherly manner. He could see the officer was in distress.

“Female, mid to late 30’s, DOA. God there is so much blood. It’s my, uh, my first dead body.” He looked around for someplace to be sick.

“Who called it in?”

Before he could answer, a bathrobe clad man exited the front door.

“Norm? What gives?” Steve asked and turned wide-eyed to Mike.

“I’m glad you guys are here, this is a nightmare.”

“Give us the abbreviated version. What happened?” Mike asked.

“I met Miriam, and before you ask, no, I don’t know her last name, at the _Suds and Soda_ last night after work. She seemed like a nice gal, we had a couple of laughs.” Norm looked at the expression on Mike’s face. “Don’t judge Mike, it’s the 70’s. We came back to my place.”

“And?”

“That’s all I can remember. I swear, we only had a couple of drinks! Uniforms pounding on the door woke me up. She was dead, next to me in bed and… Hey where’s my car?” Norm looked up and down the block.

“And?” Steve interjected.

“She was shot, and….”

“Spill it, Norm.” Mike said, irritation evident in his voice.

Norm looked at his feet. “My gun, my gun’s been fired.” 

“Go sit in the LTD till we figure out what’s going on.”

“But Mike, someone…”

“That’s not a request Norm,” Mike was firm in his tone, “You know better than this, you need to stay out of the way till we get more information.”

“But Mike... “

“Now, before someone puts you in cuffs!” 

Norm shrugged and shuffled over to the LTD in bare feet.

Mike and Steve walked over to the uniform in charge and spoke briefly with him before entering the apartment.

“You don’t think that he had anything to do with this?” Steve asked Mike as they arrived at the bedroom, now seeing why the young officer looked so green. A middle-aged brunette lay draped over the bed, 3 oozing wounds to her head and torso. The sheets were stained with large blossoms of crimson. Mike noted the perforated pillow on the floor. 

“Poor man’s silencer?”

“That’s what it looks like, but it still should have woken up Norm. You figure somebody slipped him something?”

“I think it’s a safe bet. We’ll need to get him to the lab and get some work done, blood test and paraffin test for gunshot residue. We’re also gonna have to keep a tight lid on this. If the press finds out, he’ll be tried in the court of public opinion before we get to step 1.”

“What about IA?”

“As much as I hate to say it, we gotta bring them in. Even though it’s Norm, everything has to be above board and by the book.”

Bernie entered the room without greeting. “Gentlemen, what do we have?”

Steve looked at the dead woman’s purse that sat atop a pile of clothes on the nightstand. Most of the contents, it seemed, were spilled onto a colorful scarf that puddled on the orange shag carpeting. He retrieved her wallet and read from her driver’s license. “Miriam Steiner, 38. Three gunshot wounds, probably from a Colt .38 detective special.” He pointed to Norm’s gun, which was laying on the nightstand on the opposite side of the room..

“Police issue?”

“Yeah,” Mike replied, “You’ll find it registered to SFPD, issued to Sgt. Haseejian.”

“Norm?”

“Yeah, Bernie. Do us a favor. Keep that on the down low and check her for methaqualone. That’s the drug of choice for incapacitating people these days, correct?. 

Bernie shook his head in agreement. “Quaaludes. Doctor’s need to quit giving out that stuff like candy.”

“You’re preaching to the choir. We also need to have Norm checked for the same, plus a paraffin test, can you handle that for us Doc?”

“Sure, no sweat. I’ll do the drug test and Charlie can do the paraffin. Rape kit?”

“From what Norm said, no. But I guess we better cover our bases.” Mike answered, thinking that this situation was going to get a whole lot worse before it got better.

“Will do. Say, do me a favor if you see Charlie’s guys outside, tell them to hold off until I’m done with the body. Just send in the photographer.”

“Sure thing,” Steve said as he retrieved the dead woman’s keys. “I need to log these in with Charlie before we leave anyhow. Steve copied the dead woman’s address into his note book. As he put her wallet back he noticed an ID for The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.

  
“Hey, Mike. She works at the Art Museum over at The Legion of Honor.” He held up the ID card.

“Not Norm’s typical date.”

“No, he’s more the bowling and burgers type. Speaking of Norm, what are we going to do about him?”

“Well, first…” Mike said as he opened the closet, “We get him some clothes. Then he’s got to go to the lab. The uniforms can take him in. We also need to call Captain Olsen, IA and a PBA lawyer so he can give his formal statement.”

“APB on his car?”

“Absolutely.”

“Are we going to handle the interview?” Steve asked, although he already knew the answer.

“Nope. Wouldn’t smell right if it gets out. We’ll let IA handle that. We need to look at her house.”

“You think they’re going to charge him?”

“I hope not. Probably get put on administrative leave. Depends if they want to play hardball or not. A lot rides on the drug and paraffin test.”

“Do we need to get Gerry in the loop?”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“I’ve been known to come up with a few now and again. Do you want to run by the museum and bar after we check out her place?”

“Absolutely, you’re on the ball this morning, buddy boy.”

“It’s all about the sleep deprivation.” Steve said with an eye roll.

Mike slapped him affectionately on the arm. 

00000

Steve pulled the LTD up to a high-end townhouse on Sacramento Street in Nob Hill. “Definitely looks highbrow for Norm and the _Suds and Soda.”_

Mike knocked on the door while Steve pulled out the keys he had found in the dead woman’s purse. 

When no one answered, Steve let them in with the keys and handed them to Mike. They walked into an elegantly appointed marble foyer. Mike let a low whistle. _What the heck did Norm get himself into?_

  
“You want upstairs or down?” Steve asked

“Up, since you are so _sleep deprived_. “Mike replied looking at the grand staircase to the right.

Mike trotted up the steps while Steve turned into a refined sitting area. The furniture and wall coverings reminded him of the grand European drawing rooms in period piece movies. Tall ceilings with carved crown molding, ornate antiques and nothing out of place. He went through the figured-oak pocket doors into a Chippendale outfitted dining room set with painted porcelain plates and bohemian crystal. This place looked like a museum.

A butler’s pantry off the dining room led into the kitchen. At least this room looked slightly lived-in. A newspaper was still on the table with a half-drunk cup of cold coffee and a wrapper from a Poptart. Steve picked up the paper and was surprised to see that it was in German. There was a composition book with flowers doodled on the cover in green ink. Steve picked up the note book and opened to the first pages on which was written _Sarah Steiner, Algebra II/Trigonometry, Period 2_ in a curly feminine hand. Apparently, Miriam Steiner had a teenage daughter.

There was a note taped to the fridge with a ten dollar bill. Steve pulled it down and read it.

_Sarah,_

_I’m going out after work. There are leftovers in the fridge. If you and Opa don’t want to eat them, get some take out. I’ll see you later._

_Love, Mama_

  1. _Don’t forget to DO YOUR HOMEWORK before you get on the phone. XOXOXO_



Mike came into the kitchen as Steve finished the note. “This place is really something.”

“No kidding.” Steve said as he held the note up to his forehead, like the character from _The Tonight Show._ “Three people live here: Miriam; a teenage girl, Sarah; and an old man who speaks German.”

Mike shook his head. “Well done Carnac the Magnificent. How did you figure that out?”

Steve handed the note and newspaper to Mike. “Opa is grandfather in German. And if she’s telling Sarah to stay off the phone, well, that screams teenager. Plus, there’s an Algebra notebook on the table. Miriam, Opa and Sarah, ergo three people.”

“I’ll make a detective out of you yet. That lines up with the three bedrooms I found upstairs. We know where Miriam is. Any idea where the other two are?”

Steve looked at his watch, it was already going on ten. “Sarah’s probably at school, as far as Opa, who knows?”

Mike produced a receipt book and handed it to Steve with a flourish. “He’s at work. Opa is Jakob Steiner. Owns a jewelry store on Grant.”

“That might explain where the dough came from for all this.” Steve swept his hand toward the opulent furnishings as they headed for the door. Where do you want to go first?”

“Let’s hit the jewelry store. I want to get notification out of the way.”

With their sad duty ahead of them, the detectives headed for Steiner’s Fine Jewelry and Antiques.

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Steve found a parking place down the block from the store front. A bell tinkled as they went into the shop. Though small, the high quality antiques and fine jewelry in the cases screamed money.

“I don’t think I make enough to even be allowed in here.” Steve said in a low voice.  
Mike shushed him as a middle-age woman came through a velvet draped doorway behind the counter.

“Can I help you gentlemen?”

“Yes ma’am.” Mike replied as he produced his star and made introductions. May we speak to Mr. Steiner?”

She looked at her watch, “Good luck with that on a Friday. He was here earlier but now he is probably at Torah study at Sherith Israel. Then it’s home for Shabbat.”

“Shabbat?” Steve asked.

“Sabbath. Starts at sundown. He won’t be back till Sunday, but the shop’s not open, that’s when he works with the diamonds. Shop won’t open again till Monday.”

“Doesn’t that cut into the business?”

“People make time for the best. Mr. Steiner is one of the premier jewelers in San Francisco, a real artist. He hand-makes all the jewelry right here in the workshop, trained in Vienna. All of this is his work, all one of a kind.”

Steve had a stray thought. “Do you keep loose diamonds in the store?” 

“Not here. Mr. Steiner is old fashioned, likes to keep things close at hand. He keeps them in a vault at his home until he needs them.”

“How much are we talking about?”

“Right now? A lot. We get a courier-delivered shipment from Antwerp on the 15th of every month. Maybe $200,000 or more.”

Steve looked at Mike. Maybe this one would be easy. Money was the second oldest reason for murder. If they were part of the equation, big ticket diamonds hitting the black market in The City would be easy to follow.

Mike left his card with the clerk. “If he checks in, will you please tell him we need to speak to him.”  
“Sure. Can I give him a message?”

“No ma’am, just let him know we were here.”

As they walked to the car, Steve asked,” Where next, Mike? You don’t want to pull him out of Synagogue, do you?” 

It was a good question. Mike pondered it a moment. While it was of paramount importance to inform next of kin, he felt the investigation’s golden hour was slipping away. If they spend too much time chasing Steiner around the city, they would lose the fresh trail of clues. Plus, he would rather make the notification when the older man was at home. They would definitely have to get there before sundown, however.

“I tell you what, let’s head back to Bryant Street. We can check in with Bernie and Charlie   
and see where things are with Norm. We might want to check in with robbery, too. See if they’ve heard anything about new diamonds on the market. When we get back to Mr. Steiner, we can ask to look in his safe.”

“You caught that, huh?”

“You were a bit obvious but it was a good idea, at least it’s something to follow up on.”

“Thank you, I think. Aren’t you afraid word might get back to the next of kin before we make the notification?

“Not much chance of that. The daughter is at school and the father’s at Synagogue. I know it’s backwards but I feel like the clues are going to dry up really fast on this one.”

“Ok, so after Bryant Street, what next?”

“We can split up, you want the bar or the museum?”

“Do you even have to ask? Have you ever been to the Suds and Soda? Calling it a dump would be kind. Really makes me wonder what someone from Nob Hill was doing there.”

“It does, doesn’t it.”

“Well, maybe you can find out, I’ll take the museum.” Steve smirked and added, “Better class of chicks there, anyway.”

Steve ducked the swat that came his way as they arrived at the car.

00000  
When Mike and Steve arrived, a dejected Norm Haseejian sat nursing a cup of coffee in the interrogation room. A heated discussion was going on just outside the glass-windowed space.

“We have to charge him. He can’t account for what happened. She was found in his bed, dead. His gun was fired and the ballistics are consistent with that weapon. The press will have a field day when they find out. We have to treat our own just like anybody else in the city.”

“Innocent until proven guilty, right? Just like everyone else in the city?” Steve retorted in a confrontational tone.

Mike quieted him with his eyes and addressed Dan Morgan from Internal Affairs. “Have you gotten the lab results yet?”

“What lab results?”

“Maybe you should get the rest of the story before you put his career in jeopardy.” Mike directed his next question at Olsen. “Was Sgt. Haseejian’s lawyer present when he was questioned?”

“I was pointing that out to Sgt. Morgan when I ended the interview. Haseejian won’t answer another question without his advocate. Is that clear Sgt. Morgan? We are not in the habit of railroading any citizen in this division, especially one of our own.”

“What about this?” Morgan had ignored the Captain entirely. He held up a clear evidence bag that contained a glimmering, large-carat diamond. “It was found in the shag carpet at the suspect’s residence. You mean to tell me that Sgt. Haseejian makes enough money to have one of these lying around?”

Mike and Steve looked from the bag to each other. “Where specifically was that found?”

“Why is that important?”

“Humor me.” Mike was quickly losing patience with the aggressive IA detective.

“It was found when the techs raked by the nightstand.”

“Buried in the carpet pile?” Mike asked.

“I think I just said that.”

“Isn’t that an odd place to hide a diamond?”

Morgan rolled his eyes at Mike.

Steve jumped in, “Isn’t that where the contents of the vics purse were spilled?” 

Morgan’s temper was getting short. “What makes you think the rock was hers?”

Mike nodded at Steve. “Because the victim’s father is a jeweler and keeps loose stone at his and his daughter’s residence.” 

“Greed seems like a viable motive for murder for an underpaid public servant.” 

“Or a murderer in a hurry to get out of a cops apartment.” Mike added quietly

“Do you really think Norm would kill her over a diamond? Did you ask him about the stone?” Steve’s rapid-fire response increased in volume.

“I was going to, until Cpt. Olsen stopped me.”

Before Rudy could retort, Mike stepped in as the voice of reason. “Gentlemen, perhaps we all need to take five to collect ourselves. Rudy, do we have an ETA on the PBA Lawyer?”

“He’ll be here within the hour.”

“Good. Steve and I will go down and check on the lab work while we wait. Sgt. Morgan, why don’t you get a cup of coffee and take a breather until then?” He posed the suggestion as a question whose only answer was yes, in a way that only Mike could.

With tempers cooled for the moment, Steve and Mike went to see the Medical Examiner. Bernie had Miriam on the table when they entered the autopsy suite.

“Geeze, you guys, I only got her back here two hours ago, what do you expect, miracles?”

“Sorry Bernie, but IA is champing at the bit, do we have any lab results for her or Norm yet?”

“You know we won’t get the tox screen back for at least a few more hours. I’m sorry Mike, but it will be 8-9 pm before I have anything conclusive.”

“What about the woman, anything?”

“Not much. Cause of death is 3 .38 slugs at close range.”

“We pretty much knew that. Did Charlie get anything?” Steve was grasping at straws. 

“I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him. We have been tied up with this all morning.”

They left the morgue and went straight to the forensics lab. Charlie was bent over a microscope.

“Give me some good news, Charlie.” Mike sounded a little desperate.

“Depends on what you consider good news. We have a murder weapon. Unfortunately, ballistics is a match for Norm’s .38. Take a look.”

Mike, then Steve peered into the microscope. The striations on the slugs were a perfect match.

“Fingerprints?” Steve asked

“Gun was wiped clean. Your coffee table should be this tidy.”

“Still doesn’t prove anything. What about the paraffin test?”

“Well…”

“What Charlie?”

“He smokes. You know what that does to the test.”

“So it was positive?” Steve was incredulous.

“At first blush, yes, but you know smokers frequently give false positives because of the nitrates in cigarettes. We really need our expert to analyze it.”

“When can he do that?”

“Won’t be till next week, he’s on leave. His wife just had a baby… And if you want to pull my tech in from his first kid, well... you’re going to make that call, not me.”

“I’ll take it under advisement, but we might need to. What about the diamond?” Mike asked.

“What about it? It’s about 9 karats, D-Flawless. Really nice stone. Looks like it was cut in Europe.”

”You seem to know a lot about diamonds, I’m impressed.”

“Thank you. It’s a hobby of mine. Wish I could afford something like this. So does my wife.” Charlie said with a laugh.

“What’s something like this worth?”

“About $40,000, maybe more. It really is a beauty.”

“Any fingerprints?”

“Nope clean as a whistle.”

00000

Mike was dejected as they made their way to the elevator. “Morgan’s gonna have a field day with the GSR results. It’ll be all we can do to keep Norm out of lockup.”

Steve was about to respond when the elevator door opened. Both men were relieved to see Ray Gardiner, one of the best lawyers working for their Union.

Steve spoke in greeting, “Boy are we glad to see you Ray. We’ve got big problems.”

They laid out Norm’s situation during the brief elevator ride up to the bullpen.

“Gentlemen. This is kind of a tough situation. Despite his exemplary record, the circumstantial evidence against Sgt. Haseejian is pretty strong. Do we have any lab results? I understand you were checking for narcotics and GSR.”

About that, Steve answered in a deflated tone, “Yeah, about that, Norm smokes…”

“Damn, that’s not good. So, it was positive.”

“Yep. And we won’t have the tox screen until tonight.”

They stood by the door of the elevator briefly in silence before Gardiner continued. “You guys need to get out on the streets and get me something. Motive, suspects, anything that may divert the spotlight from Norm. If you don’t, I don’t think there is a chance in hell that the DA doesn’t move forward with this.”

“That’s our intent, Ray. Can you at least stall until we get the drug results back? I hate to think of Norm in lockup.”

“Depends on how IA wants to play it.”

“Great,” Steve rolled his eyes.”

“What, who’d Norm draw?”

“Morgan.”

“Swell, looks like I have my work cut out for me. What is his deal anyhow? 

Mike answered. “No idea. Do your best Ray. We’ll see what we can dig up.” 

After Ray departed, they headed out, splitting up in the parking lot.


End file.
